


Famiglia di sangue, carta, e cuore (Family of Blood, Paper, and Heart)

by mangiodolci



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Foster Family, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Siblings, Angst, Anxiety Attacks, Fluff and Angst, Foster Care, Found Family, Gen, I just really love sbi found family fics, My First Fanfic, Past Child Abuse, Philza is just a tired dad, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sensory Overload, Sleepy Bois Inc Angst, Sleepy Bois Inc as Family, Sleepy Bois Ince, Tags Are Hard, Technoblade Has ADHD (Video Blogging RPF), Trauma, Wilbur Soot and Technoblade and TommyInnit are Siblings, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:33:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29635380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mangiodolci/pseuds/mangiodolci
Summary: Who knew Phil making an impulsive and delirious decision at 3 am would lead to having three amazing and adorable sons?Phil decides to apply for fostering when he could barely muster a full thought, and now he is the caretaker for some fucked up kids. Good thing his heart is too big for his own good and will gladly take them in and raise them right.Problems are worked out, bonds are formed, and family has grown.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 92





	1. Chapter 1

Phil had no clue what he was getting himself into...

\------------

Almost one year ago exactly, Philza Watson was downing his fifth cup of coffee for that night, his brain practically a pile of mush after spending 48 hours with no sleep, trying to catch up on all of the work that was piling up at the office. He would usually be fine with staying awake for 48 hours, but the stress of work on top of sleep deprivation made it ten times worse. 

But of course, if he wanted to get paid he had to do this. So he trudged through another sleepless night and continued on. 

While doing his work, his body suddenly flushed with a sense of _loneliness_. His brain started to wander from his laptop and onto the empty, quiet house he resided in. Phil's house was average for a suburban area, 3 bed, and 2.5 bath. The perfect house for a family.

He was the only one who resided in it though, he rarely went into the extra bedrooms and bathrooms. He stuck to a schedule of, wake up, eat, work, shower, sleep. That's the way it had been for five years, his body and mind perfectly fine with the situation. But now his heavily hyper and sleep-deprived body craved more, a family. To see kids scamper around the house as he watched them grow and prosper, to help them to become the best version of themselves.

So, with his delirious mind, Phil quickly looked up the local foster organization, sent them an email, and promptly passed out. His laptop left forgotten.

\-----------

After that fateful night, after the next morning when he remembered everything, and after he got a response from the organization, he began the long and tiring trek of preparing to become a foster parent.

It took months of paperwork and background checking. They had to see all sorts of factors in his life. If he was financially stable, if he had a criminal record, if he had any parenting experience, etc., etc. Them checking through all of these things was quick, but just the organization responding to emails for the next step could take months. But he dealt with it, knowing, _hoping_ that this would all be worth it.

Throughout the whole thing, he was doing his own research. He had never been a parent before, so he had to research that for starters. He would look up how to take care of foster children, but he waited until he got the file of the kid first, wanting to research how to care for that child's specific requirements. Though on his journey, he became curious about how foster systems work on the inside. Phil avoided official organizations' websites, knowing they would all be biased about the company, trying to appeal, so he went to Reddit forums for help.

Phil went through countless forums on past foster kid's experiences in the system. Some good, most bad. He wasn't totally shocked, he's heard countless stories on the news on the corruption of foster organizations, but he never knew it was this bad.

Though this only gave him more of a reason to continue on, wanting to help at least one child who could be going through this.

When he was finally deemed eligible for fostering, he was sent the file of a young, 11-year-old boy, Wilbur Soot. His parents dumped him on the door of the organization at 6 with his twin brother. The file barely mentioned his twin brother, only one sentence or two, not even his name. Wilbur had been passed from house to house for the past 5 years, 12 homes in total. 

All the reports on why he was sent back were never descriptive, most just saying he was a "problem child". Phil didn't know if he should believe this or not but just decided to keep it in the back of his mind.

Three days before Wilbur was supposed to show up, he got a call from the foster home. Phil assumed it was going to just be talking about the finalization of things, but when he picked up the phone, he was greeted by a frantic social worker.

"Excuse me, Mr. Watson?" The woman asked, the slight caramel sweetness in her tone made Phil recognize the voice as Ms. Nihachu. 

"Yes, Ms. Nihachu? Is there something you need? Also as I've said before, just Phil, please." Phil responded, Trying to sound completely calm as if he didn't notice the nervousness in Nihachu's voice. There was some shuffling on the other side of the phone until the social worker spoke up again. 

"Actually yes there is, Phil. Y'see Wilbur's brother, Technoblade, has been to almost every home Wilbur has, they're joined at the hip practically." Nihachu took a breath and nervously chuckled a bit, talking about the twins. "But every time they go to separate homes, both of them are absolute messes, They've never lasted two months in a home without each other." 

"Ms. Nihachu, what are you getting at?" Phil asked, skepticism in his voice, he had an idea where this conversation was going, but he wanted to hear it from her for confirmation.

Nihachu chuckled again, even more anxiously this time, "Yes, Yes, Sorry. I was just wondering if you would be okay if...you could take...both of them?" Nihachu finally asked, her voice sounding higher and awkward at the end.

Phil sighed, he wasn't hating the idea, but he just had to comprehend the whole thing. Before he could respond, Nihachu started talking once more.

"I understand it's your first time fostering, and two kids could be a lot. But it will become an even worse mess if these two are separated now, they both just got back from different homes. Phil, I genuinely care for these two kids and wish the best for them, and right now you seem the best fit. I'm sorry if this is too much right now I just really-"

"Ms. Nihachu" Phil abruptly said, stopping Nihachu mid-rant. 

Nihachu stopped and stayed quiet, Phil sighed once again and pinched the bridge of his nose. Having to absorb all of this information.

Phil started thinking about it. At first he never really gave Wilbur's twin a thought, just seeing him as "twin brother" on a file. He was never mentioned so he thought they had been separated a long time ago. But now he wasn't just "twin brother" in Wilbur's file, he had a name. And now that he has infiltrated Phil's mind, he wanted to help them both. These two must be really close if they can't last two months without each other. He didn't want to separate these kids, they don't deserve to lose the only family they had left.

Phil finally broke out of his deep thought and responded, "Fine. I'll do it."

You could practically feel Nihachu's excitement through the phone. "Oh, that's wonderful! The boys will be glad to hear that. I'll send you Technoblade's file right away."

He heard typing on the other end and almost 2 seconds later, he got a notification about an email from Nihachu. Phil smirked _'She knew I was gonna say yes.'_

"Thank you Ms. Nihachu, I'll look over this right away. Have a good day miss." Phil said with amusement in his voice. He heard an agreeing hum, and then they both said their goodbyes right before Phil hung up the phone.

Phil had to get to work, so he decided to put off reading Techno's file for a little while. He knew what he would read in the file wouldn't be good, and he didn't want to go to work in a sour mood.

When he got home, he immediately opened up his laptop and plopped down on the sofa, ready to read what Technoblade was all about.

Technoblade was the younger twin by 2 minutes, he had been to more houses as well, 14 instead of 12. All of the houses that he shared with Wilbur gave the same reason, 'problem child'. While the ones that only he resided in gave more detailed descriptions. words _'aggressive', 'violent', 'disruptive'_ , and _'dangerous'_ were very common throughout.

This left a bitter taste in his mouth, not that he believed that Techno was these things, but the fact that adults could outright call an innocent and abandoned child _dangerous._

Though he was frustrated that Techno was sent back for these idiotic reasons, he had to keep it in mind. After researching different types of trauma and PTSD -because of how the past foster children on Reddit said how the system affected them-, he knows that this was just the way he was taught to cope, which is disgusting in itself, but he still had to take caution.

Phil leaned back into the sofa with a hard sigh, he was right to read this after work. He decided to not start an inner TED talk on how wrong the adults that sent him away were, so he just closed his laptop, got up from the sofa, and prepared to head to bed. 

\-----------

Even after almost a year of planning and preparation, even after he thought he felt relatively calm about the whole procedure when he first saw the two young boys on his doorstep, he once again had no idea what he was getting into...

When he heard his doorbell ring, he walked up to his door and opened it to find Ms. Nihachu on his doorstep with two little kids slightly behind her legs. 

"Good morning Mr. Watson, thank you once again for allowing both Wil and Techno into your home, I know it was last second but I greatly appreciate it," Nihachu said smiling, putting her hand on Wilbur's back in some form of comfort. 

Phil smiled back, "As I've said over a million times on the phone Ms. Nihachu, Phil is just fine. And it's not a problem miss." He looked down at the two twins who are still using Nihachu as some form of a shield, Phil chuckled at this. Wilbur was looking around everywhere but Phil's face, while Techno was staring right at him, trying to analyze every part of him with a piercing, warning glare. He wasn't able to fully look at the kids before Nihachu started talking once more.

"Ah yes, Phil, I'm sorry. Anyways these are Techno and Wil, as you may have guessed." Nihachu motioned towards the two boys before they continued speaking, "All the important stuff has already been taken care of over the phone, so I should be on my way. I'll leave you all to it, goodbye!" Nihachu said as she slowly came out from in front of the two boys and waved everyone off as she walked back into the car parked in the driveway and drove off.

Before the awkward silence could set in, Phil opened his front door and motioned for the boys to come inside. There was slight hesitance in their steps as they walked into the house, and once they both fully entered Phil walked in as well and shut the door behind them.

Phil walked in front of the two boys and crouched down to their level, before speaking, he took about a good three seconds to finally analyze them.

Wilbur looked quite tall for an 11-year-old, actually, both of them did. His hair was a dark brown that seemed a bit outgrown, making it difficult to see his eyes through all the hair. Some parts were choppy and short than other places, most likely from past attempts to cut it. Phil made a mental note to book a hairdresser appointment. Other than his hair, Wil looked very lanky, as if he could snap from a strong gust of wind. slight fading bruises were slightly visible, hiding behind his disheveled clothes. 

Technoblade was an inch or two shorter than his brother, but he was still above average in height for his age. His hair was waist length, split ends destroying it, looking as if it's never been trimmed properly. it was greasy and pink splotches of hair covered the ends. Now editing his mental note to making two hairdresser appointments. But the most intriguing thing about Techo was his abnormally pale skin and pinkish-red rimmed eyes. Phil was shocked but didn't let it show. he'd never seen someone who's Albino before. Without the melanin in his skin, he'd looked almost porcelain if it wasn't for the scars and bruises.

"Well then, hello you two! I'm Philza, but as I said to Ms. Nihachu, call me Phil." Phil gave them a closed eye smile, before standing up. The twins didn't respond, both just giving a short curt nod. 

"I guess I should start by showing you around the house- Oh!" Phil crouched back down to their level again. 

"I have a simple question before we start. Y'see I have two guest bedrooms, so I just want to know if you want to share one room, or have two separate ones." Phil asked. The boys glanced at each other and just shuffled anxiously. "There's no wrong answer, I don't care which one you choose." Phil added.

There was silence for a few seconds before Technoblade mumbled, "The same room." 

Phil smiled once again, Techno's voice sounded naturally monotone, and a bit deep, for a child at least. He nodded and stood up again. "Okay! let's start the tour, follow me, please!" 

As Phil showed them around the house, making comments here and there, he could tell both boys where psycho analyzing every detail. As they made it around the first floor, Phil led them into the hallway next to the staircase and to the room at the very end of the hall. He turned to the boys before speaking, "This, is my bedroom slash office. If you need anything from me you can come here, I don't care if it's at three in the morning, I don't have a good sleep schedule anyway." Phil chuckled at his last statement before continuing. 

"Of course I do most of my work in here as well, which includes some meetings, so let's make a rule that you knock before coming in, okay?" Technoblade just nodded while Wilbur gave a feeble, "Yes, sir." 

Phil continued the tour and finally made it too the second floor. He knew the twins would probably close themselves off in their room, so he saved it for last. He opened the door to it and started speaking once more. 

"Here's your room, sorry it's a bit bare. We can go shopping tomorrow and ya'll can pick out stuff you want to decorate you room with." Phil paused looking at the kids, they didn't respond to the statement, so he guessed it was okay. "Dinner will be ready in about an hour, I'll leave you too putting your stuff away." Phil said, referencing to the garbage bags in the kids' hands. 

Wilbur gave a nod of agreement and walked in the room with Techno, promptly shutting the door in his face. Phil finally let out a sigh, taking off his hat and pushing his hair back before walking back down the steps to get dinner started. 

_This was going to be a long journey._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I lose motivation pretty quickly if I don't have a purpose to keep going, so kudos and comments are very much appreciated to know if people actually care about my fic, I'm not forcing you tho <3


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil goes shopping with Wil and Techno, progress in the relationship was made :)

As Phil was finishing preparing dinner, he wasn't expecting the boys to come down. He was planning on just knocking on their door and putting the food next to it, leaving them to adjust in peace. But low and behold, as he was just doing the final touches, he heard little patters coming down the staircase. Phil turned around to see Wilbur alone, standing near the dining table whilst fidgeting with his sleeves, eyes on the floor. 

"Oh! Hello Wilbur, are you here for dinner?" Phil asked, getting a small nod in return. "Is Techno coming down as well? Or just you?" Wilbur looked up at Phil for a split second before going back to the floor.

"Just me, sir." Phil chuckled before responding, "That's okay. Also, please just call me Phil. Saying sir just makes me feel old" He smiled down at Wilbur, Wil just fidgeting more.

"Right, sorry, Phil," Wilbur mumbled, glancing at the table, to Phil, then back at the floor multiple times.

"You can sit down Wil, you don't need my permission." Wilbur nodded and finally sat down, silence filling the room.

Phil finished preparing dinner and sat down two plates on the table before sitting himself down as well. An awkward silence filled the air, Wil hadn't touched his food yet and just stared, eyes looking out of focus as if he was somewhere else. Phil didn't know what to say, he didn't want to push the kid's boundaries, but he didn't know what those boundaries were yet. And also the protectiveness that oozed out of Techno for his brother would probably burst if he made the kid cry.

"Wil, you okay there? You seem lost," Phil spoke softly, snapping Wilbur out of his trance. When he realized he spaced out Wil started freaking out a bit. "O-o-oh, I'm sorry sir-, Phil," Wil responded, eyes darting around everywhere.

"No, no, no, it's okay, it happens. Anyways, y'know you're allowed to eat, right? You're allowed to have free will, mate." Phil chuckled a bit at the end. Wilbur just nodded before slowly taking a bite of food, after a moment Wilbur paused, then started quickly eating everything as if he hadn't eaten in weeks. The awkward silence seeped back into the room once more, but at least both of them were eating now instead of just one. Phil started making plans in his head of what he has to do for the next following days work-wise, raising these kids-wise, etc.

"Oh, right! Wil, I know I mentioned this before but I just need confirmation." Phil suddenly realized, Wilbur, putting a pause on his food to anxiously look up at Phil. "I said we're going shopping for some stuff for you and Techno, but I just wanna know if you actually wanna go. It would help if ya'll go, but I'm not gonna force ya." Wilbur looked at Phil with a dumbfounded expression. When the cogs in his brain started to function again, he simply gave a nod, "We'll go."

Phil didn't entirely believe he wanted to, and just felt obligated, but he let it slide. He told Wil about future plans, like the shopping trip being postponed until the weekend due to having to catch up with work. Throughout the whole thing, Wil just gave small conformations or hums. When they both finished their meal Wilbur stood up and reached out to grab both plates. Phil quickly grabbed his wrist. 

"Let me do this Wil, you don't have to." Phil states, after a few seconds Wilbur started shaking and was staring wide-eyed at the hand of his wrist. Phil quickly realized and immediately let go. "Sorry! I'm not gonna hurt you. Just let me do this, okay?" Phil spoke in a soft voice, to try and calm the kid down. 

"B-but I gotta d-do something.." Wil quietly spoke. Phil just gave him a soft smile, he shook his head and spoke. "No, you don't, Wil, not at the moment at least. If you want to do something right now, you can do this." Phil paused before walking back into the kitchen, Wil following behind him.

He grabbed some leftover food and put it on another plate, turning around holding out to Wilbur.

"You can go give this to your brother, based on how you were eating I bet he's hungry too." Phil chuckled a bit before Wil grabbed the food carefully from Phil. Wilbur nodded furiously, "Yes sir-er, Phil. Thank you." Phil just smirked and motioned for him to go up the stairs, Wil rushed up the steps, somehow without spilling to food, leaving Phil back to his own devices.

\--------------

It was finally the weekend, Phil's work allowed him to work from home for a week or two to help settle the kids down. Techno and Wilbur came out of their room a few times, just to use the bathroom or explore the house a bit more. Wilbur came down for dinner almost every night, though Phil didn't think he was warming up to him, just thinking it was an obligation. Techno was holed up in the room more than Wilbur, and every time Phil saw him he was with his twin brother. 

It was the day when they were supposed to go shopping, he told the twins half an hour ago to be ready by now. When it had been almost exactly thirty minutes, the two came down the stairs and into the living room, looking at Phil who was waiting by the front door. 

"You two ready?" Phil asked, smiling at the twins. They nodded and walked out the door that Phil opened for them. Phil unlocked the car and the boys slid into the backseat, Phil went into the driver's seat and started the car.

"We're gonna start with the boring stuff and get ya'll new furniture, I would just move the stuff from the other guest bedroom but I don't think two queen-sized beds can fit in your room." Phil paused, looking at the boys from the mirror as they nodded. "Afterward we can go shopping for stuff ya'll like, just point anything out and I'll get it, just don't go too crazy, okay?" Both boys nodded again, and then the car started and the ride was silent.

Phil looked back in the rearview mirror every now and then to check in on them. The only concerning thing being Techno constantly moving his left leg up and down while he fiddled with his hands, his eyes glazed over staring out the window. Though he nor Wilbur seemed to be in distress about it so he let it be.

Shopping for furniture was fine, Phil just quickly picked out two twin beds and ordered them to be sent to his house in the next few days. The other furniture pieces could be brought in from the other guest bedroom.

The second store they went to was more crowded than the other, so the twins stuck to Phil like glue, afraid of all of the random adults around them. 

"Okay you two, while we walk you can look around at stuff. When you find something you like just tell me." The boys nodded and they started off on their journey.

 _This journey was stressing Phil out_

Everything Phil asked their opinion on, he would always get an "It's fine." it's as if these kids were never allowed to have an opinion before, which may actually be true now that he thought about it. Phil sighed and looked back at the two boys, they had gotten to a section where all the books are. He decided if he was going to be successful today, he was going to analyze practically everything. 

He started with Techno, The boy was looking at all the books with wonder. As he was looking at all the books, Phil noticed Techno's eyes glance a few seconds longer at a specific shelf of books. Phil went over to that shelf and looked at the books there, _mythology._ Techno glanced over at Phil when he noticed Phil was looking at the Shelf as well. 

"You like mythology, Techno?" Phil spoke, Techno went wide-eyed and his face blushed a bit. Techno mumbled and looked to the ground. 

"It's fine." 

Phil chuckled a bit before crouching down and slowly putting a hand on Techno's shoulder so he didn't freak out, "It's okay to like stuff, Tech. You can pick out a few books if you want." Phil reassured. Techno looked back up at Phil, staying silent for a few seconds. 

"Really?" Techno asked, his voice sounding a lot more childlike and sincere. Phil just smiled, "Yes, really." Techno nodded and immediately went on a search for books. Wilbur saw the whole conversation go down, and looked up at Phil with the most innocent and pleading look Phil had ever seen. He just chuckled and gave a nod to the silent request.

After about fifteen minutes, the boys had returned. Techno with a few books, two books about Greek mythology, one about Roman mythology, one book about the history of war, and a copy of The Princess Bride. An odd variety, but as long as Techno was happy he was okay with it. Wilbur had only two books, The first and second volume of the Harry Potter series.

Phil put the books in his cart, and they continued on. 

Though Wilbur was able to pick out some things, Phil wanted to find things that were more specified towards him. As they were exploring, Phil noticed Wilbur stand still for a second a stare at a globe. It reminded Phil of when they were searching for books, Wilbur's eyes glazed over some books about Geography but continued on. So, Phil went over to Wilbur and started the same interview he did with Techno.

"You like geography, Wil?" Phil asked, the boy looked up at him, and then to the floor, nodding slightly. "Do you want this globe then?" Wilbur nodded again. 

"Alright then! Come on now." Phil stated as he grabbed the globe and put it in the cart. Next were the more essential items, like clothes and school supplies. He let Techno and Wilbur pick out some of their own clothes, it was easier for them to say "I want it" than before, Phil smiled at the progress. He was going to have to give them stuff like laptops and phones to make sure they're alive and that they can do schoolwork, but that was for another day. 

It had been silent after checking out, all of the stuff was in the trunk and they were on their way back home. Until Wilbur finally spoke. 

"Um...Phil?" Wil asked, nervousness in his voice. "Yeah, mate?" Phil responded, looking back at him in the rearview mirror. It was silent for a few seconds before Wilbur finally spoke. 

"Thank you so much." 

Phil smiled as the kid blushed, Techno nodded in agreement to the statement. God Phil can't think he can take any more pureness or he will die from a heart attack. "No problem you two, it was my pleasure." 

The rest of the ride home was a peaceful silence, progress had been made in their relationship. Even though it was only a little, Phil was happy. When they got back home, he let the boys take a bit to put all of their new stuff away (they insisted on no help from Phil). Afterward, he called the twins down and motioned them to sit down on the sofa. They looked anxious, not knowing why they were called down for. 

"I can feel your nervousness from here boys, don't worry, you're not in trouble whatsoever," Phil said as he sat down with a coffee mug. Techno and Wilburs shoulders became slightly less tense. It was silent for a few seconds before Phil started speaking

"Your new school sent me an e-mail saying that classes will be starting back up in a week." The boys' shoulders tensed up once again, they froze. Before they could start to full-on panic, Phil continued, "I'm not going to force you to go. I called ya'll down here to see if you think if you'll be ready, mentally, by the time it starts." It was silent for a few seconds, the boys glancing at each other, fiddling with their hands. 

Since they were continuing to be quiet, Phil spoke up again, "If only one of you will be okay, you could go and share whatever you learned that day with the other."

"NO!" Both boys shouted. Phil froze for a second at the noise, before pretending that it didn't faze him. Wilbur started to shake, eyes wide. Techno immediately side-hugged his brother as Wilbur started to let tears fall from his eyes. 

"I-i-i'm sorry for shouting, ple-ase don't be mad. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I-I'm sorry."

Phil wanted to hold Wilbur so much and just comfort him, but he knew neither Wil nor Techno would like that at the moment. Instead, he just used words, "Hey bud, It's okay, I'm not mad. See? You're okay, just breathe, slowly, alright?" Wilbur gave a shaky nod and tried to control his breathing. After a few minutes, Wilbur had semi-calmed down now, Techno asking him if he was alright every five seconds. 

"Okay so now we know you don't want to go to school separately, do you think you can go together? Or wait a bit longer?" Phil asked, Wilbur and Techno thought for a good minute, Wilbur glanced at Techno and he just nodded. 

"We'll go." Techno said. Phil gave them a soft smile, "Okay then, I'll e-mail the school back saying you're both going. How about you two go up to your bedroom now, hmm? I still have some work to do so I'll be down here in the living room if you need anything." Phil spoke. The boys nodded and Techno led a groggy Wilbur up the staircase to their room. Phil then picked up his laptop and emailed the school.

He took a sip of his coffee and reflected on what happened today. There were a few bumps, sure, but they had gotten closer, trusting Phil more. Sure it wasn't a lot, but it was something. Phil just smiled.

_Baby steps._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOO first time I've written something and it didn't take me 3 months for a second chapter. I'm making up the plot as I go but I have some things planned out (keyword: some). Hope ya'll enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil has no clue as to whether or not the twins both having a panic attack made them closer or farther apart :/

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Hope you enjoy chapter 3! also just wanna say thank you for the nice comments and kudos I've been getting, it means a lot to me :)!

Before the boys went off to school in a few days, Phil wanted to check off the mental note he made when he first met the boys. _Going to the hairdresser._ This seemed as though it would be a difficult challenge in Phil's mind. He knew the boys did not like much physical contact if it wasn't from each other, but their hair was so bad it needed to be fixed. So, Phil mustered up some courage and knocked on the twin's door. 

"Boys? Can you come down into the living room for a sec, gotta ask ya two something." Phil waited for a few seconds for a response. He heard a mumbled 'coming' and Phil promptly went down the staircase waiting for the boys.

A minute or two later after Phil plopped onto the couch, the boys came barreling down. Phil prompted them to sit down, and when they got settled onto the couch Phil began.

"Ok, so, I've been wanting to ask you two this ever since you first came here. But I'm just wanting to know if I'm allowed to book a hairdresser appointment for you two?" The boys gave anxious, but confused looks. Their hair was semi-better since they had come to Phil's home, due to it being washed and dried frequently now, But it still wasn't healthy. 

"Both of your hairs are a mess, I'm asking because I know you two don't like to be touched much, and a hairdresser appointment involves a lot of physical contact. But I promise if you two go, your hair will look and feel _a lot_ better." Phil stated. As the boys processed and thought about the offer, Phil just sat there silently.

Techno started fiddling with his hair, twisting and twirling it. He looked in deep thought about his hair. Wilbur glanced at his brother and then turned back to Phil.

"What will the people do to it?" Wil asked, slight caution in his tone.

"Well your hair would have to be cut a bit to chop off all the blocky and chopped edges. And Techno's hair would have to be cut an inch or two to get all of the split ends and splotchy dye out. After that, you can do whatever with it." Phil answered, he genuinely didn't care if the twins wanted bright neon rainbow hair if it made them happy, but it _had_ to be trimmed. "Is there anything else ya'll want? I don't care if you want it dyed or anything like that."

Techno snapped his head up, he looked as though something was at the tip of his tongue, begging to be said.

"Yes, Techno? Do you wanna do something with your hair?" Techno looked down to the floor and blushed slightly, nodding. 

"Okay! What is it?" Phil asked. Wilbur gave his brother a smile of encouragement, which Phil guessed led Techno to have enough courage to speak.

"C-can." Techno paused, biting the inside of his lip. He sighed and continued, "Can I have my hair pink?" Techno quickly spat out. Phil took a moment to slow down his words in his head to make them audible. 

When Phil noticed the pink splotches in his hair, it was obvious that the color was a bit old. Techno's original hair color is a very light brown, not dark due to the lack of melanin. The pink was at the end of his hair, and it was very faded. Phil guessed Techno attempted to dye it a bit ago, but failed and never tried again. Phil noticed he was being a bit quiet and finally responded.

"Oh, of course! I'm guessing you did the dye that's on now?" Phil asked politely. Techno just shook his head no.

"No, I didn't do it. In one of the foster homes the son liked to call me a girl because my hair was long. Then one day in the shower he poured pink dye over the shower and on my head because it's a "girl's color". Phil's eyes went slightly wide, _that explains why it looks splotchy._ Techno continued, "I got really mad at him and punched him in the gut. He started crying and whining even though I didn't even hit him that hard. Though after the parents tried to return me but keep Wilbur, _that's_ when I hit him hard." 

Phil tried to show no emotion, Techno had some form of pride in his voice, if he acted horrified or disgusted this conversation would go very south. So Phil just cleared his throat and responded. 

"Though violence isn't the best answer, the kid really had it coming." Yep, Phil was winning the best parent of the year reward. "If you want your hair pink again, but with a professional this time, that's fine. But don't you think it's a 'girl's color'?" Phil questioned, y'think because of that experience he would think the same, but Techno shook his head no again.

"At first, yeah. I thought it was disgusting afterward, I was so tempted to just cut off all of my hair. But I like my hair long, and after a bit, the pink grew on me." Techno blushed, fiddling with his hair again and looking down. Wilbur just smirked at his brother's shy state and nudged him a bit. Earning a glare from Techno.

"Okay! We can go in a few hours if I book the appointments right now, Wilbur you want anything with your hair?" Phil questioned, wanting to make sure. Wilbur shook his head no and Phil nodded, picking up his phone and calling the nearest hairdresser.

\----------

When they got to the place, Phil had to very briefly explain how both boys are gonna need to be near each other during the whole thing. Luckily, the woman didn't question and agreed to let both boys be up at the station. 

First up was Wilbur, he was grasping his brother's hand so hard, it was bound to hurt. But Techno kept a straight face, rubbing the back of his brother's hand with his thumb trying to soothe him the best he could. Luckily it didn't take long, about 10-15 minutes to get it all fixed. Wilbur fondled through his hair, it wasn't jaggedy anymore and it looked and felt very fluffy, his face brightened a bit and he smiled at Phil. 

Next was Techno, he held his brother's hand as well, but not as tight. His face was still straight, Phil looked at Techno through the mirror and his eyes looked glazed over like they did on the car ride to the store. His body was there, but he himself looked lost in a far-off place, he followed all the instructions the lady gave, but it still didn't look like he comprehended them. After about 2 hours, Techno now had light pink hair that went slightly past his shoulders. 

Wilbur squeezed Techno's hand, causing him to come back to reality, he blinked a bit and looked at his hair in the mirror. His eyes lit up and his mouth contorted into a slight smile. 

"How do you like it, hun?" The lady asked, Techno looked up at her and gave her a polite smile.

"I like it a lot, thank you." Techno spoke; the first thing he said in the past 2 hours. Phil's heart warmed, these two boys looked so much healthier and happier now. It had only been a little while but they already look so much better. 

Phil paid at the front desk and they all hopped into the car, going back home.

\----------

Today was the first day of school after the break, a Monday. Phil saw throughout the weekend the nervousness of the twins getting higher and higher, though Phil assumed those were just first-day jitters. 

"Boys! you ready?" Phil called from the bottom of the staircase. He heard shuffling come from the twins' bedroom, Phil backed away from the staircase, seeing the twins barrel down it. The boys were very quiet, Wilbur slightly behind Techno, using him as a shield as he did the first day they were here. Phil was worried, yes, but he brushed it off, thinking all their nervousness will be gone after a week or so of school. 

"Okay, let's go then." Phil opened the front door, the boys walking out in front of him. They plopped in the back seat of the car and continued to stay quiet. Phil knew trying to push these kids would be stupid, so when he started the car and started heading off to the school, he stayed quiet as well. Techno and Wilbur were holding each other's hands, looking out the windows, giving each other some form of comfort. 

The drive was short, only 10 minutes. Phil stopped at the student drop-off section of the parking lot and unlocked the doors. Techno and Wilbur got out, and Phil waved them off. 

As he was driving, he started thinking. He _knows_ these kids aren't going to have a 100% happy fun time at school, it's a public school for fucks sake. But he's seen how nervous they are and is just trying to remain optimistic. He knows school isn't the best, Phil was in it for 22 years. But from what he remembers, when he was nervous for a new school year, that fear went away in 2-3 days, getting used to the schedule, so it shouldn't be so bad.

\----------

Phil was on the sofa with his laptop, catching up on work while some competition cooking show played in the background. The front door opened, making Phil look over the couch to see the twins walking into the house. Phil smiled at the boys, all he got was a glance and then they quickly walked up to their room. Phil frowned a bit, but he let it be, it had only been 2 weeks together after all. 

He expected that the boys weren't coming down for dinner, they needed time to process their new school. So when Phil got up to make dinner, he immediately went and grabbed some aluminum foil to wrap the meal with later. But when he saw both boys at the dining table, he just held his shock back and gave them a smile, gesturing them to sit down. 

Techno had never come down for dinner before, Phil didn't know to take this as a good or bad thing. He was anxious, but he pushed it all down and they ate in silence. The tension was filling the air, Phil could read the room and decided not to ask anything about how school went. He made tiny conversations here or there throughout the meal, but they only lasted for 2 minutes at most. When dinner ended, Wilbur, Techno, and Phil all grabbed their respective silverware and walked back to the kitchen. 

Then suddenly there was a loud crash.

Phil turned around to see Wilbur, glass shattered around his feet, and a cup no longer in his hand. Wilbur's eyes widened, his breathing started to get shaky and speed up. Techno immediately dropped all of his stuff into the sink and ran over to his brother. When Techno wrapped his arms around him, Wilbur suddenly starting bawling and dropped to the floor on his knees. Techno stayed silent as he was dragged to the floor, just holding his brother as Wilbur starting saying "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" as best he could through shaky sobs as if he was a broken record player. 

Phil suddenly snapped out of a trance he didn't know he was in. He looked to the floor to see Wilbur breaking down in front of him, Phil immediately bent down to the floor as well when he saw cut knees and blood on the floor. Techno quickly snapped his head up and had a dark and angry expression on his face, Phil put his hands up to his side. Slowly he lowers his hands to the floor, Techno's gaze on it every second. Phil picked up most of the glass on the floor and quickly got up to throw it away.

Phil went back to Wilbur, Techno once again glaring so hard at Phil the gaze could probably pierce him through the chest. He knew what Techno was saying, but just holding Wilbur won't calm him down. So Phil slowly brought his hands up to Wilbur.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Techno shouted. Phil's hands stopped, Wilbur flinching hard at the noise. Phil took a deep breath.

"Techno, you need to-"

"NO!" Techno interrupted, Phil just stared at him in shock. "I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU TOUCH HIM I WILL BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU!" Techno was screaming, anger slipping out of him so easily. Wilbur started sobbing even more, Phil honestly doubted he could breathe at the moment. 

Phil took a moment to breathe and analyze the situation. Wilbur dropped a cup, started having a panic attack, Wilbur's state made Techno get overprotective and go into his own panic attack. Techno's yelling making Wilbur freak out, and Wilbur crying making Techno freak out. Phil had to think of something, he'd have to take this slowly.

"Techno, please stop yelling. You're freaking Wilbur out." Phil spoke. Techno paused for a second, Phil saw this as an opportunity to try and reach out to Wilbur before Techno went right back to yelling. _Okay_ , Phil thought, _I gotta take this one at a time._

Phil slowly raised his hands to his sides, trying to put all of his focus onto Techno. His calming down would make things a lot easier. 

"Techno, I won't touch Wilbur, I promise. You're not in your right mind, if you want Wilbur to be okay, you need to calm down." Phil spoke, calmly and softly. Techno paused again, he was quiet now, but his eyes still showed how much he wanted to hit something. Now the only sound filling the room was Wilbur's cries, Phil's heart was shattering at the sight. But if he wanted to help Wilbur, he would have to get through Techno.

"Please kid, let me try and calm him down, I won't come into physical contact with him unless he wants it, okay?" Phil pleaded. Techno looked at him, his grip on Wilbur slightly loosening. He nodded after about 20 seconds and just stared at the bloodied floor. Phil decided to take a chance now. He moved his hands hovering over Wilbur. 

"Wilbur, can you hear me? Can you give me a sign you're here?" Phil asked, Wilbur slightly raised a hand before dropping it back down. Phil nodded, "Okay, Wilbur, you okay with touch right now, mate?" 

Wilbur nodded, barely seen through all of his shaking, he put out his hand. Phil took this as a sign to only put his hand there. 

When Phil grabbed Wilbur's hand, rubbing his thumb on Wilbur's palm, Wilbur froze for a moment. Phil thought he did something wrong before Wilbur launched himself onto Phil and started crying even harder. Phil looked over at Techno, who just stared, no emotion being shown through his face, almost as if he was about to pass out. Phil went back to the breaking boy in his arms. 

"Hey, bud. It's okay. I'm gonna need you to breathe for me, okay? Match my breathing." Phil started slowing his breathing, rubbing Wilbur's back in encouragement. After 10 minutes of Phil whispering to Wilbur and many attempts to breathe, Wilbur finally calmed down. Though tears still slipped through his eyes, and his body was still shaky, he was a lot better. Wilbur was still grasping onto Phil, holding tight. 

Phil looked or Wilbur and onto where Techno was. Techno was now laying on the floor, passed out. Phil immediately got concerned, and slowly pried Wilbur off of him to not scare the boy. He went over to Techno to see if he was okay. He looked calm and tired, his breathing was even so Phil's worried slightly subsided. Wilbur looked at his brother with concern. Phil just smiled. 

"Techno's okay, just tired. Let's get both of ya'll to bed, we'll talk about all of this in the morning, okay?" Phil offered, Wilbur nodded. Phil picked up Techno, holding his back and under his knees. Wilbur got up from the floor, cringing the blood and cuts on his knees. Phil looked at Wilbur and spoke again, "I'll put Techno to bed, go up to the bathroom and wait, I'll come in and get you patched up." Wilbur nodded and went up the staircase as fast as possible, not wanting to get blood on the carpet. 

Phil went up as well with Techno in his arms. He went into the twins' bedroom and placed the boy in his bed, tucking him in. Phil walked back down the hallway and into the upstairs bathroom, Wilbur sitting on the sink, eyes to the ground. 

"How are you holding up, kid?" Phil asked, being down to the cupboards under the sink, grabbing the first aid kit. 

"I'm fine," Wilbur said, Phil just shook his head. 

"Now we both know that isn't true. I won't ask what happened or why, but I bet you probably don't want to go to school tomorrow, huh?" Phil asked, Wilbur's eyes widened for a second before nodding. Phil smiled, "Okay, I'll call the school tomorrow. Now, let's get you fixed up."

Phil took a washcloth a wet it in the sink, before gently patting it to Wilbur's knees, him flinching a bit at the sting. Since they were small, shallow cuts, Phil just put some Neosporin on them, before beginning to bandage them up. It was quiet for the most part, but Wilbur's anxiousness was obvious. 

"Phil, I'm so-"

"Nope." Phil interrupted, putting a hand to Wilbur's face. He finished bandaging WIlbur and stood up, looking at him. "Nothing to be sorry about. We'll talk about this if ya'll are up for it tomorrow, okay?" Phil offered. Wilbur just stared a Phil for a second, before nodding and hopping of the bathroom counter. Phil led Wilbur to their room, seeing him smile when he saw his brother fast asleep.

Phil stopped at the doorframe as Wilbur walked in, "I'll let you sleep, Good night Wil." Phil said. Wilbur turned around and nodded before going back to his bed. Phil shut the door and went downstairs, he grabbed a cloth and cleaned up all the blood on the kitchen tile. Phil then finished cleaning the dishes that were left abandoned in the sink. 

After everything was finished, Phil quickly went down the first floor hallway, and into his bedroom. Promptly flopping onto his bed and falling fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so...how about all the shit that's been happening since monday huh. good times? good times...


End file.
